The Travels of Orca and Sturgeon
by RonnyBravo
Summary: Orca and Sturgeon couldn't be more opposite of each other. But when they recieve word from a fairy that there is a destiny waiting for them, they must leave their home on Outset and travel the world to complete their destined mission. Will they succeed? Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda characters, ideas, and places belong to Nintendo.
1. Chapter 1

"Will you cut that out!?" Sturgeon yelled, looking up from his book. His brother, Orca, did not answer him and continued to try to break the gigantic wooden board in half with his fists. Sturgeon was a young man of about sixteen (the islanders on Outset couldn't know for sure), and he had dark hair and blue eyes. Orca, his brother, was fourteen and had light brown hair and blue eyes. Orca turned around after a few more tries to answer his brother.

"I'm practicing," said Orca, plain and simple, "Maybe you should get your head out of that book and practice as well. Father does want us to have our fighting skills down should danger come to the island." Sturgeon rolled his eyes.

"Like that's ever going to happen on Outset," he said sarcastically, "Seriously, get real, Orca. This island is so mellow and quiet that it probably isn't even on the map."

"That's not what the fishman told me," said Orca, "He said that…"

"Shh!" Sturgeon snapped, "That fishman can go drown himself in the lagoon. Maybe it is mapped, but nobody's shown up here since people first sailed here. So likely, nobody is going to care about this place." Orca didn't bother continuing the argument and tried once again to break the five inch thick board in half. He succeeded this time.

"Twelve hits…" said Orca, thinking over his progress in his head, "Bah! I need to reach at least just five! Then I can work on aces…"

"Do you think of nothing but fighting all day long?" asked Sturgeon, shutting the book and placing it in his lap.

"Do you think of nothing but reading all day long?" asked Orca in response. Sturgeon didn't answer. The two of them acted like typical siblings; they could not agree on anything. Sturgeon was obsessed with learning, while Orca was obsessed with learning martial arts and the ways of weaponry.

They had lived on Outset for almost since people sailed there off of the Great Sea. There was only a two generation gap between them and the first settlers. They lived with their father almost right in the middle of the island, which was, according to Sturgeon, one of the bigger islands on the Great Sea, though not many people lived there.

There was a small village where the two of them lived at the foot of what was called the Fairy's mountain, as it was said that there lived a Great Fairy within the forest at its peak. There was a small grotto that separated the two halves of the island at the mountain's foot, and a bridge that connected them at the mountain's peak. It had a population of about fifteen and the people there were very much in common with the island; very mellow and calm, except for Orca, who constantly beat up inanimate objects, though he could be a natural Outset citizen very well if he tried.

Orca took up his sword from its spot on the wall where two swords were hanging.

"I'm going up to the forest," said Orca heading to the door.

"Wait a minute!" Sturgeon cried, "You can't go without telling father!"

"Watch me," said Orca reaching for the doorknob. He didn't even have to touch it. The door opened for him.

"Orca, what are you doing?" asked Porpo, who was their father.

"I'm going to the forest to train," Orca replied.

"Oh good," said Porpo, "Is Sturgeon going?"

"I most certainly am not," Sturgeon snapped, standing up quickly. Porpo and Orca stared him and then Orca shrugged and went out the door past his father.

"Go Sturgeon," said Porpo after a few more seconds of silence. Sturgeon gave his father a shocked look.

"But father…"

"No buts; go!" said Porpo fiercely. Sturgeon grabbed the other sword off the wall and almost dropped it on the floor due to not being used to using it. Then he stumbled out the door after Orca as his father watched the two brothers approach the path to the top of the mountain.

* * *

"Watch your step," said Orca as they began crossing the wooden suspension bridge that led to the west half of the island and the summit of Fairy Mountain.

"A-a-are y-you s-sure this is s-safe?" Sturgeon asked with extreme anxiety as he looked down at the water far below.

"You need to make this trip more often," his younger brother said as he strode confidently across the bridge. Sturgeon struggled to take any further steps towards the other side. He shuffled slowly and almost lost his balance once or twice.

"Go faster!" Orca called, "That always helps!"

"Will you shut… whoa!" Sturgeon almost stumbled off of the bridge as the wind shook it left to right. Sturgeon clung to one of the ropes.

"I can't do this!" he cried. The wind shook the bridge again and Orca watched his brother grab rope after rope until he was only a few steps from the other side. Sturgeon collapsed at his brother's feet trembling.

"Obviously you lied to yourself," said Orca. He pulled is elder brother off of the ground. He was a good five feet and six inches and very well built, so well that he didn't wear a shirt that often, so it was always figured that if they ran into a stranger, they would think Orca was older. Sturgeon on the other hand was very short and stout, standing at about five feet.

"Let's go," said Orca as he approached the small tunnel that led into the forest. Sturgeon followed, still trembling slightly, but he gripped something on the inside of his cloak that gave him some sort of security. It was odd how they did things like that, but books seemed to be something that provided him a comfort zone. Realizing that Orca was already in the tunnel, Sturgeon staggered after him, feeling comfortable now that he had remembered that his book was on him.

* * *

The second Sturgeon entered the forest he was almost struck by a falling tree branch. He looked up and saw that Orca was fighting a strange bug creature that was spurting out small spiky balls. One of them fell on his head and he screamed and ran around in circles.

"Sturgeon, shake it off and fight like a man!" Orca yelled, seeing that his brother had joined the fight. Sturgeon swatted the spiky thing off of his head and began rolling under the cover of the tall grasses around him. He watched Orca as he fought, seeing that his brother was already cut in several places by the little spiky balls.

"How does he do that?" Sturgeon asked himself. He didn't have time to watch anymore because more of the little spiky balls began bouncing at him. He swatted them away with the sword awkwardly and ran towards higher ground and climbed up. He ran smack into another one of the bugs, which immediately attacked him.

Orca in the meantime was decapitating the bug he was fighting when he heard Sturgeon scream from below. Sturgeon was pushed to the ground by the bug and it was biting him everywhere. Orca jumped straight out of the tree and slashed the bug in half, either half on either side of Sturgeon. Sturgeon himself was covered in bug guts.

"Was that really necessary?" Sturgeon snapped as Orca helped him up.

"Unless you wished to die," said Orca, "Then yes, that was really necessary." Sturgeon stormed over to a tree stump nearby and pulled himself up onto it.

"This isn't fair…" he pouted, "I don't have any idea how to use a sword or fight at all for that matter. Why can't I just educate myself and stay inside?" Orca walked up to him.

"Because if this island gets stormed in time, we need to be ready to fight," said Orca, "History does repeat itself Sturgeon. And I know you know the history behind our life." Sturgeon looked up at his brother in sudden realization.

"Oh…" he said, suddenly lost in thought.

"I mean, everybody on this town can fight in some way," said Orca, "Annette can use sticks to her advantage, Robby has a good throwing arm so that he can throw rocks… everyone except for you puts in an effort to learn to defend themselves."

"Gee thanks," said Sturgeon, breaking out of his thought process, "I guess you're right. Fine; I'll try my best to at least learn a few basic skills with a sword."

"Good," said Orca. Then he broke into a mischievous grin.

"Hmm… since we're already here, why don't we check out that hole up there?" Orca pointed up to the next ledge up. He could climb up on his own easily, but Sturgeon would have to jump from the stump. Orca did his thing and Sturgeon jumped over and grabbed the ledge. Orca pulled him up. Then they climbed up to where the hole was.

"Are you sure this is safe?" asked Sturgeon, nervousness creeping into his voice.

"Positive," said Orca, "I don't even know what's in here myself."

"Wait…" Before Sturgeon could react, Orca had shoved him into the hole and jumped in himself.

* * *

They ended up in a blue lit room that had a fountain in its center. The place felt magical and the two brothers gazed around in amazement. They walked forward and Sturgeon noticed that there was a fairy right in the middle of the fountain just floating there.

"Look Orca!" Sturgeon whispered, "It's a fairy!"

"I can see that," Orca whispered in response. Sturgeon pulled the book out of his cloak and began looking through it as Orca approached the fountain. Out of nowhere, to the surprise of both brothers, an enormous woman with only half a body but four arms that looked like a ghost popped out of the water.

Orca stumbled backwards and landed on his bottom and Sturgeon just gaped, the book open to the page that he had been looking for.

"Welcome travellers," said the Great Fairy, though it sounded odd because of the accent she put on it.

"Uh…" said Orca dumbfounded at the speech of the fairy.

"I think she's accenting using ancient Hylian," said Sturgeon, tapping his head in order to try to remember the few languages he had memorized due to his high I.Q., "We kind of aren't travelers."

"I apologize," said the fairy in an echoed tone, "I did not realize you were natives."

"You are the Great Fairy?" asked Orca as he stood up on shaky knees. Sturgeon looked down at his book, which he had forgotten about when he saw the Great Fairy. The two pages in front of his face were crammed with information on fairies.

"Ah, I should have known you were here on Outset!" Sturgeon cried, "It gives the locations of known fairies here and there seems to be…"

"Why are you here?" the fairy asked looking down at them.

"We were only curious…" Orca started. But the Great Fairy cut him off.

"I know why you are here," she said, "Fate has brought you here. I must tell you what you must do."

"Wait, who?" asked Sturgeon.

"Both of you," said the Great Fairy, pointing two fingers, one for each of them. The brothers looked at each other in surprise.

"You are to go on a mission that you will very likely fail, but you will be the first to try it," said the Great Fairy, "You must find these." She put two of her hands up in front of her face and formed a V-shape with them and with the other two; she put them in a meditative position. A flower appeared between her V-shaped hands and she blew on it. The petals floated down to Orca's hands and swirled around them. A light flashed and the two of them covered their eyes. When they opened them, Orca was holding a purple crest in his hands.

"This is a Knight's Crest," said the Great Fairy, "You must search for these across the Great Sea and collect ten of them. Only then can the ultimate sword fighting technique be learned." Orca's jaw dropped. Sturgeon turned his head to one side and then the other.

"Good luck…" said the Great Fairy. She vanished into a pillar of light and in her place were about ten smaller fairies. Again, the two brothers looked at each other.

"Incredible…" said Orca, "The ultimate sword fighting technique…"

"I can understand what you get out of this, but what do I get?" asked Sturgeon, "I can't even handle a sword."

"Which is why you will learn and practice," said Orca, "Just as you said you would." Sturgeon, remembering his vow to try harder to learn the ways of the sword, nodded his head.

"Now, let's get home," said Orca, "I'm sure father will be worried for us."

"Right," said Sturgeon in agreement. So the two of them left the Great Fairy's hidden sanctum and headed home together swearing not to tell their father of what they had found in the forest.


	2. Chapter 2

The brothers couldn't have been more opposite of their norm for the next few days. Orca was absently coaching Sturgeon in his swordplay, which Sturgeon had become quite proficient in, while Orca himself was busy studying up on Knights' Crests. Every once in a while he'd give an 'ah' or 'mm-hmm' but other than that he was pretty quiet.

"Are you just going to sit there?" asked Sturgeon who was out of breath from practicing.

"That's what you do all day," said Orca, not looking up from the book. Sturgeon watched Orca turn the pages for a few more seconds while he caught his breath. He didn't even know his brother was capable of reading. As he turned back around to continue his work, he felt something move behind him. Instinctively, he swung his sword around and it clashed against Orca's blade.

"Orca…" Sturgeon said under his breath. Orca pulled his blade away and swung again. Sturgeon caught the blade with his own, this time without flinching. The swords clanked against each other three more times. Sturgeon found it hard to keep up with his brother, but he was managing better than when he had been fighting wooden poles. Orca was right; speed helped.

Sturgeon urged his right arm to swing the sword faster. Metal clashed against metal as the two sparred. Then Orca apparently decided to make things a little more interesting. He switched sword arms!

"Wait, you're not…" Sturgeon started.

"When you are in battle, it is important to show no weakness," said Orca, swinging at Sturgeon with his left this time, "And that means covering up any weak points you may have!" Sturgeon countered the blade with his own, but the force of Orca's swing knocked him to the ground. Orca put the tip of his sword to Sturgeon's nose.

"You need more practice," said Orca. Sturgeon let out a weak smile.

"I'm afraid not," said Sturgeon, "I believe I've mastered everything you've taught me." Orca looked confused, but his confusion didn't last for long because Sturgeon suddenly disappeared from under his blade and he felt something knock him to the ground. Sturgeon's foot came down on his back lightly.

"Ha! Gotcha!" said Sturgeon, "Looks like someone needs more practice!" Orca simply rolled his eyes.

* * *

A heated conversation was underway at dinner that night. The two brothers were talking with their father about the whole Knights' Crests idea, excluding the part about the Great fairy of course; well, Orca in particular. Porpo himself couldn't bring himself to believe what his son was telling him.

"Stuff like that is from myths and fairy tales," said Porpo after swallowing another gulp of soup, "You best not be getting into stuff like that at the age you're at."

"But father, I know they're out there, just waiting for me to find!" Orca argued.

"You can go after these… Knights' Crests all you want, but you won't find them," said Porpo, "Even if they did exist, surely they'd be guarded? And I don't think even you could handle a journey. You two have never left Outset!"

"Father…"

"Orca, as I said, you can go as you like," said Porpo, "But I advise against it." Porpo suddenly looked as though he would cry.

"Father, are you alright?" Sturgeon asked, breaking into the conversation.

"I-I don't want to lose you two," Porpo said, trying to hold back tears, "I've already lost your mother and sister. Not you both…" It was true. Orca and Sturgeon's mother had divorced their father when they were young and she took their sister with her to Windfall. They hadn't seen either of them ever since. They figured that was where Sturgeon's black hair came from and Orca's misty blue eyes since their father possessed neither trait.

"Father… I'm sorry but…" Orca was cut off by his father's glare boring into him.

"You aren't going anywhere boy," he said fiercely. Orca almost jumped. Sturgeon looked between the two of them in panic. When their father was mad, he got mad.

"Father, this is my… my destiny…" said Orca pleadingly, "I just know it!"

"You will stay on this island and hone your skills until danger arises," said Porpo, "This village needs your protection! This is my final answer!" Porpo got up and stormed through the curtain separating the dinner table from the bedroom. Sturgeon's mouth was dropped.

"Orca, you shouldn't have done that!" Sturgeon cried. Orca didn't respond and sat down in his chair, staring at his soup. Sturgeon calmed down.

"Orca, just let it pass," said Sturgeon, "The only way you're going to get off of this island is if something big happens." Orca took his time in his response.

"Like anything big is ever going to happen on this island right?" he said. Sturgeon's own words stung him. He had said the very same thing in different wording just a few days before.

"Orca, what if something like that does happen?" asked Sturgeon, "What if some groundbreaking event occurs?"

"Stop trying to encourage me with what-ifs," said Orca, "You said yourself that a what-if has an almost zero percent chance of being correct." Sturgeon again was stung by his own words. Orca was a lot smarter than he let on.

"Orca, if you keep moping around like this, how are you ever going to become a great swordsman?" asked Sturgeon.

"Sturgeon, just stop," said Orca, standing up and heading for the door solemnly. Then, someone spoke below.

"Orca! Sturgeon!" they cried, "Get your father out here! We have an emergency!" Orca looked back at Sturgeon, who was already getting up from the table to go get their father.

"Don't Sturgeon," said Orca, "Let's go." Sturgeon stared at his brother, trying to figure out why Orca wouldn't want father to come. After all, if this had to do with medicine, their father was the man to ask. Sturgeon reluctantly began to follow Orca to the door and then, breaking his reluctance, he walked over to the curtain and went through to get Porpo. Orca shook his head and walked out the door.

* * *

Sturgeon and Porpo found Orca and pretty much the entire congregation that was the village crowded around something that had washed up on shore.

"Give him breathing room!" someone cried.

"Get out of the way! I can't see!" said someone else. Porpo pushed through the crowd and ordered everyone to step back. Everyone but Orca and Annette did what they were told. Annette was a girl who lived near the brothers and their father. She had bright yellow hair that was always tied in a ponytail, and she had blue eyes.

She and Orca were gazing worriedly at a creature that was about seven feet in height. The creature was yellowish orange and it had strange tattoos on its arms that looked like a sharp depiction of a paw. He wore a light red button up shirt with palm tree markings and a tall cone shaped hat that covered most of his face. An enormous backpack and its scattered contents were nearby, along with a raft that looked sliced in half.

"What is he?" asked Sturgeon as Porpo felt around the creature's chest area for signs of life.

"I don't know," said Porpo in response, "It appears that a living creature has washed upon our shores here. Who he is and where he came from, I have no idea." His voice had risen to address the aggregation. He continued on with hospitality rules and other stuff like that, but Sturgeon, Orca, and Annette continued to stare at the creature. Then he moved.

"Father, he's moving!" Sturgeon cried. The whole village watched as the creature sat up, rubbed his head through his hat, and looked around.

"Oh dear, now where am I?" he said in a strange deep accent, "I don't suppose this is a merchant village is it?" The villagers looked at the creature in awe.

"Who are you?" asked Porpo, representing the villagers.

"I am Nathaniel IV of the Goron tribe," he said, removing his hat to reveal a rounded yellow head, "A merchant of the Great Sea, searching for the legendary merchant village of Windfall." Sturgeon and Orca exchanged glances. Annette was eyeing the Goron curiously.

"I fear you have landed on our island of Outset," said Porpo, still acting as a representative for the villagers, who were eyeing the Goron with nervousness.

"Oh," said Nathaniel, "I see my raft is wrecked. I'll remain here until it can be fixed. Do you at least have wood?" Porpo turned to his sons.

"Go up to the forest with our visitor and cut some wood for him," he said. Then he turned back to the congregation of villagers. "We will allow Nathaniel of the Gorons to stay for as long as he needs. As said before, please treat him with utmost respect." With this repeated remark, the rest of the villagers dispersed abuzz about the new temporary resident.

* * *

When the villagers had all gone back to their homes, Orca and Sturgeon began the trip up the mountain for the second time that week, Nathaniel following the two of them silently. The Goron had gathered together all of his possessions in his backpack and put it up before beginning the long slow climb, which Sturgeon saw as almost trying to kill oneself. Orca was impressed, though less so when the Goron tried to start a conversation by bragging about the natural strength of a Goron.

When they got to the bridge, Orca crossed it with ease, showing off his agility. Sturgeon scoffed and got ready to walk across, but as he took the first step, he noticed that Nathaniel was following him.

"Hold on," said Sturgeon, "I don't know if this bridge will hold both of our weight." Nathaniel looked past Sturgeon at the suspension bridge in front of them.

"You're right," said Nathaniel, "I tried walking across a bridge once and it wouldn't hold even just my weight." Sturgeon gulped.

"How are we going to get you across?" asked Sturgeon.

"Just come on already!" Orca yelled from the other side.

"The laws of physics are kind of slowing…" Sturgeon was unable to finish because suddenly, Nathaniel dashed onto the bridge past him. Sturgeon made the mistake of taking another step forward and the ropes next to him snapped. He found himself unable to move in panic and saw that Nathaniel had just reached the center of the bridge, which was now shaking wildly under the weight of the Goron. Before Sturgeon could jump off of the bridge the way he had come, it snapped and Sturgeon was sent downwards.

Somehow, Sturgeon managed to grab hold of one of the ropes and stay suspended in midair.

"ORCA!" he screamed, his voice echoing off of both walls of the grotto. Nathaniel was above him, hanging on tightly to a slit where a board had once been. If he fell, that would be the end of Sturgeon and Nathaniel for that matter.

"I'm coming Sturgeon!" he heard Orca cry. Sturgeon made the mistake of looking down into the grotto and panicked again, his arms beginning to tremble wildly. Out of nowhere, something snapped inside of him. He pushed his feet against the wall of the grotto, which he had miraculously not hit when the bridge fell, and the bridge swung away from the wall. Sturgeon repeated this twice, seeing Orca trying to descend the ladder of boards that had once been a bridge.

Then at the height of the third swing, Sturgeon swung his body around the rope, using the centripital force to fly back around and snap out a board with his feet, grabbing onto the slit where it had been. He did this twice more, Orca still trying to get down to him and Nathaniel, who seemed unusually calm for the situation he was in. Eventually, after two more successful attempts, he was on top of Nathaniel. His fear had kicked back in and he felt more urged than ever to get back to the top, his entire body shaking as he thought this.

"Sit on my shoulders and wait for the other man to get here!" Nathaniel called from below.

"But with our combined weight we'll fall!" Sturgeon cried.

"Trust me," said Nathaniel, "I've had much more experience with this kind of situation than you and your brother ever had." Sturgeon made the crazy decision to trust the Goron below him, and fell onto Nathaniel's shoulders. He noticed a little bit of gravel on Nathaniel's chin, but before he could ask, Nathaniel had grabbed the rope that had once been the holding rope for the suspension bridge. Then he grabbed the one on the other side, just as Orca was reaching them.

"Sturgeon, grab my hand!" Orca cried. Sturgeon did so and Orca grabbed onto the side rope as well, suddenly attempting to fling both of his partners upwards. To Sturgeon's utmost shock, he succeeded, but he didn't let go of Orca's hand and Orca found himself hanging in midair while Nathaniel held onto the bridge. It was Nathaniel's turn to shine.

He grabbed the rope by one hand and Sturgeon's hand by the other and now Sturgeon found himself hanging over the bottom of the grotto below, still holding Orca's hand tightly. Nathaniel flung them with all of his might and they flew to the top of the cliff. Orca grabbed the pole that held the bridge in place and Sturgeon landed on his bottom behind Orca due to the sudden stop in centripetal force by the ground.

"Ouch!" Sturgeon cried, "That hurt!"

"Quit whining, get over here and help me!" Orca yelled. Sturgeon rushed over to help him pull the bridge up. It was an arduous task due to Nathaniel's weight, but eventually, the Goron was able to reach the top of the cliff and pull himself up.

"That was utterly close," said Orca, gasping from pulling Nathaniel up.

"But we all escaped in one piece!" Nathaniel exclaimed, looking on the bright side.

"Are you kidding me!?" Sturgeon yelled, "You could have gotten all three of us killed!"

"Sturgeon, shut up," said Orca calmly, "If that hadn't happened, you probably wouldn't have awakened the warrior inside of you. If anything you should be thanking Mr. Nathaniel for getting you out alive. Is that not a fair trade for putting you in danger?" Sturgeon was silent for a few seconds and realized what he had done at the bottom of the rope ladder. He had done something he never knew he could do; that is demonstrating athletic ability. And all it took was a few minutes in danger to awaken his inner talent.

They sat in silence for a few seconds until Nathaniel picked up a nearby rock and began munching on it.

"What the…" Orca started, but Sturgeon stopped him.

"I believe that is what he eats," said Sturgeon. Nathaniel nodded as he took a large bite out of the rock.

"Not as good as the ones back home, but it's good," said Nathaniel, "Shall we get the wood now?" Orca stood up and dusted himself off.

"Sure," he said, "Sturgeon?" Sturgeon nodded, standing up shakily but then balancing himself out. Nathaniel shoved the rest of the rock in his mouth and stood up, following the brothers into the tunnel that led to the Forest of Fairies.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I suppose I should say that I do not own Legend of Zelda (as it says in the story summary), and everything belongs to Nintendo. **


	3. Chapter 3

Nathaniel remained on the island for another week, working on fixing his raft behind Annette's house. In the meantime, the people of Outset went back to the normal ways of the quiet island, only breaking from routine to stare at Nathaniel whenever he passed. Some did this out of interest; others out of pure disgust. Despite Porpo's instructions to treat the Goron with respect, most were impolite, though Nathaniel never seemed to notice.

Orca and Sturgeon were the only ones who deviated from the normal pattern of life. While Orca was busy doing odd jobs to keep himself busy, like helping fix the bridge for spare change or feeding the local pigs, Sturgeon was busy practicing his 'warrior' skills, as Orca called them. Orca had set up a training regimen for Sturgeon to follow. Through this regular routine, Sturgeon found that he was getting better with the sword at a regular pace, though he couldn't exactly say the same for his athletic abilities, which were still quite rusty though he had used them well the previous night. He wondered if danger motivated him more than anything.

Porpo himself continued to refuse Orca's requests to leave the island, fighting against the fourteen year old constantly, so much that sometimes Sturgeon lost sleep worrying about the two of them. One day, he happened to be standing on Annette's back porch with her looking down at Nathaniel below who was working on his raft. It was coming along well, though he couldn't seem to figure out which way some of the boards were supposed to go. Sturgeon had done more reading and learned that this was a Goron's naturally low intelligence in exchange for their incredible strength; though Nathaniel himself seemed rather intelligent for one of his species.

"You know, ever since Nathaniel came to the island, I've been much inspired to train myself," said Sturgeon on this particular day, "I just don't understand why. I've never felt such an urge to train before."

"Well you are pretty lazy," said Annette, staring at Nathaniel below. She was obsessed with the Goron's sudden appearance and wanted to ask him questions about seemingly everything. He had answered all of them with straightforward answers except for one.

"He just doesn't seem to want to tell me where he lives," said Annette, changing the subject.

"Maybe he's worried we'll follow and hunt him," said Sturgeon, also looking down. They stood in silence for a few moments.

"By the way, I thought I heard your voice echo off the grotto the other night," said Annette, "Was that just you training the way Orca does? He does yell a lot. Maybe you should tell him that." Sturgeon showed no reaction. He hadn't told anybody about that night where he and Orca had almost died. He guessed he really didn't feel like drawing any more attention to Nathaniel than there already was.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Sturgeon, reverting his gaze to the sky, "Don't tell him, but he kind of motivates me to train harder too." Annette giggled.

"I thought you two got along in some way," she said. More moments of silence passed.

"The last time we had anybody come around this island was that pictographer guy," said Annette, "How long ago was that?"

"A month or two," Sturgeon answered, not averting his gaze from the sky.

"I thought it was longer," said Annette.

"Time here tends to do that to people," said Sturgeon, stretching out his back, "One day passes and it feels like a year. He really liked you didn't he?"

"I suppose," said Annette with a sigh. Annette was fifteen, right in between Sturgeon and Orca. Even so, Sturgeon figured if she was in a larger society like Windfall, just about every guy in the town would have asked her out. Sturgeon only thought of her as a good friend but Orca he knew had a not-so-small hidden crush on Annette. And boy did he hide it well.

"Orca's been arguing with father lately," said Sturgeon, "I'm worried for them. Orca wants to leave the island to go somewhere or other but father is afraid to lose him. I honestly don't know who to back up."

Annette took a moment to consider Sturgeon's words. She looked down at Nathaniel again and then looked over at Sturgeon.

"Stop looking at the sky and come inside for some soup," said Annette. Sturgeon was surprised at the sudden subject change but Annette dragged him inside.

* * *

Sturgeon finished his soup bowl rather quickly. The small kitchen was free for Annette to use since her parents were helping repair the bridge. Annette made the most amazing soup in the village. It was even better than her mother's but she wouldn't share her recipe with anybody. It would take a master chef to figure out how she made it taste so good.

"So why did you bring me in for soup?" asked Sturgeon as Annette scooped him seconds.

"This soup helps me clear my mind and organize my thoughts," said Annette, "This is the first time I've seen you confused in my life on this island." Sturgeon thought back. Annette was right; he was by far the smartest person on the island and he knew the answers to pretty much everything except for his brother's aggressive behavior which he had never understood.

"Maybe you should have Mr. Nathaniel take you away," said Annette, her eyes lighting up, "If Orca really wanted to get off the island, maybe he could become a merchant like Mr. Nathaniel."

"That's not what he wants," said Sturgeon, "He is looking for an excuse to leave the island because of…" He lowered his voice in case anyone was listening. "Knights' Crests," he finished. Annette gasped and covered her mouth.

"Is this a secret?" she asked in shock.

"Yes," said Sturgeon quietly, "Well, sort of. Only Orca and I know about it. You see…" He explained what had happened a few days before Nathaniel had appeared. Annette listened intently as usual.

"I see," she said, "That sounds like something that would be important to Orca. An ultimate sword fighting technique… I wonder what it could be."

"I do too, but I really am not interested in that kind of thing," said Sturgeon, "I prefer reading books over anything else."

"That's not the way things look nowadays," said Annette in response. Sturgeon was silenced.

"Look Sturgeon," said Annette, "Don't let your father suppress you. Do what you really want. I personally wish to stay on this island for my whole life, raise a family maybe, and continue the legend of the hero. It's my favorite story and I really don't feel like having it get lost." Sturgeon continued his silence and for a while, nothing disturbed the peace except for the boiling of the soup in the pot. Then someone knocked on the door. Sturgeon answered it and found Nathaniel standing there.

"It's done!" he exclaimed happily, "My raft is finished!"

* * *

It was decided that Nathaniel would stay for one more day to collect food for the trip towards Windfall. The sewing club, which consisted of every female on the island, would meet the next day to make a sail for him to use. Porpo ensured Nathaniel that he would be missed, but Sturgeon knew in his heart that the islanders would be happy to get rid of him.

That afternoon, after the long subject changing conversation with Annette, Sturgeon had made a decision. He had already spoken to Orca about it, and they would talk to Nathaniel the next day. Orca was excited and Sturgeon nervous. Sturgeon's gut had told him to follow Orca and try to become the best warrior he could possibly be and he was going to do what his gut told him, even if it meant leaving his home. He loved Outset and its people, but staying there wasn't going to help him improve.

The next day Nathaniel spoke with them and the plan was made. It would go into action that night. That afternoon, the whole village gathered to see him off. The wind was just right and if it changed, Nathaniel would adjust. He knew the seas well.

"I'll miss you Mr. Nathaniel," said Annette as she hugged him tightly, "Maybe you could come back sometime and take me to see your home." Nathaniel stepped into his raft after a murmur of good-byes, since the villagers really hadn't liked him that much from the start, and he raised his sail. The wind caught it and he waved back at the islanders as the raft disappeared into the distance.

"Do you think he'll come back?" asked Orca to his brother.

"I'm sure of it Orca," said Sturgeon. He looked among all of the islanders, knowing he would miss every one of them, especially those he was closest to. Annette, his father… Tears almost came to his eyes but he held them back. The villagers had now dispersed as Orca and Sturgeon watched Annette in front of them surveying the horizon to see if there was any trace of Nathaniel left.

"Should we…" said Orca, gesturing at Annette. Sturgeon absently nodded, still thinking about the decision he had made. The two of them walked up on either side of Annette.

"Annette…" Orca started.

"It's sad that he's leaving," said Annette, "He only got to stay for a few weeks. I guess it's for the best though." Sturgeon snapped out of his little trance long enough to hear Orca tell Annette about what they had planned.

"We just wanted to say good-bye," Orca finished. Annette was silent. Sturgeon saw no shock in her eyes at all.

"So he wasn't lying," she finally said.

"Who?" asked Sturgeon.

"Nathaniel," said Annette, "He spilled that entire plan to me about two hours ago." Sturgeon and Orca exchanged shocked glances.

"I'll miss you both," said Annette, wrapping both of their shoulders in her arms, "Just don't get yourselves killed." The three of them laughed and conversed for the next few hours until the time came to go home to prepare for the brothers' leaving.

"I guess this is good-bye," said Annette as they got ready to depart to their houses from the beach.

"We'll meet again someday," said Sturgeon, "Orca and I will make sure of that."

"I second that notion," said Orca, "Outset is our home and to home we will return; eventually." They both gave Annette one last hug before the two of them waved her off and departed from the spot on the beach.

* * *

Orca told Sturgeon to pack lightly. They could restock when they got to Windfall, considering that they got there within the next few days. According to Nathaniel, he could get them there in less than two without even trying, just so long as the conditions were perfect. Sturgeon however, wanted to bring two or three of the books he had not read; one on ancient Hylian that he hadn't finished, another on the biology of the Rito, and still another on how to use a sword properly since he was still insecure about his sword fighting skills.

They waited until their father was asleep to begin packing their knapsacks. Orca had made each of them a sheath that they could keep their swords in. Food was taken silently from the cupboards upstairs. Orca was displeased that Sturgeon had brought so many books but he couldn't argue with his older brother.

"Are you sure you wish to come?" asked Orca as they finished getting ready to leave.

"Orca, what kind of stupid question is that?" asked Sturgeon in response, "If I'm to get better at my skills, I need to go somewhere! And on top of that, I don't want you doing something reckless that will kill you." Orca rolled his eyes and the two of them headed to the door. The door was opened and as the two brothers stepped outside, they looked back in. Orca quickly pulled a piece of paper out of his pack and scribbled something on it in the light of the lantern hanging from the ceiling. He stuck it in the doorjamb and with expert skill waved his arm, the air flow being disrupted and causing the candle to go out. Sturgeon's jaw dropped but Orca ushered him out and shut the door behind them as they started the short journey to the backside of the island.

* * *

Nathaniel was waiting for them, chewing on a rock. He had sailed north but then veered around back to Outset and around its backside. He was hiding in the grotto when Orca and Sturgeon found him.

"Ah, there you are!" Nathaniel cried softly, "I was worried you'd changed your minds." The Goron was wearing his merchant's hat again and his backpack was at his side. He had revamped the raft so that it had short walls along the sides. This would make sure that nothing would fall into the ocean. The brothers threw their stuff into the raft and jumped on. They were surprised it didn't sink.

"Hollow logs," said Nathaniel, "It takes a lot of practice to make them." The wind was still blowing north so they would have to go out past the main island in order to leave Outset. Hopefully no one would spot them. Nathaniel put up the sail and the wind immediately picked up and pushed them out of the grotto. They raced out of the vicinity of the main island with impressive speed.

"We're off to Windfall!" Nathaniel exclaimed jubilantly. Orca and Sturgeon silently congratulated themselves for doing what they had done. They were leaving their life at home to explore perhaps the entire world with Nathaniel while searching for the Knights' Crests. Orca had brought the only one they had on them.

"No going back now," said Orca, "From now on, we are swordsmen."

"Right," said Sturgeon softly. He suddenly saw someone on the beach that was now quite far away. It was Annette, and she was waving to them from the shore. Sturgeon waved back and when Orca saw Annette, he waved as well.

"Good bye Annette; Good bye father; Good bye… Outset," Sturgeon said softly as Outset faded from view and their raft sailed north towards Windfall Island.

* * *

**A/N: I again do not own Legend of Zelda because it belongs to Nintendo and since the Legend of Zelda is owned by Nintendo, and I am not Nintendo, it obviously doesn't belong to me. That was... kind of redundant don't you think?**


	4. Chapter 4

The seas were treacherous once they got past an island that Sturgeon remembered to be called Shark Island. It was hard for the three voyagers to stand upright on the raft because of the waves. A storm was brewing and Nathaniel had thankfully brought a blanket along so that the three of them could keep warm. Unfortunately, it wouldn't fit around Nathaniel and he gave it to the two brothers to use since he could keep warm by eating his rocks anyways.

The storm let up an hour after it had started and by that time, the moon was making its rise for the first time on their young journey. They had left Outset under the light of a half moon and so it was now a crescent moon. The following night it would be dark so they would have to get as far as they possibly could in the next twenty four hour period.

Nathaniel didn't sleep and Orca and Sturgeon took turns keeping watch over the seas to make sure no sharks were trying to kill them. At one point in time, neither of them could sleep. This sparked a whispering conversation.

"I can't believe we actually left," Sturgeon whispered.

"You've said that five times since we left," said Orca.

"I don't think we'll ever be able to return to Outset, Orca," said Sturgeon, "Father will kill us if we do."

"If he loves us, he most certainly won't and will rather be proud of us for leaving without his consent," said Orca. He didn't sound like he was worried at all.

"How is that possible?" asked Sturgeon.

"He knows the only way you, and me for that matter, are going to get better is to send us out into the world on our own together," said Orca, "He was just too afraid to do it." Sturgeon considered his brother's logic for a little while. He thought he heard Nathaniel snore but when he looked, he saw that the Goron was maintaining the rudder.

"What did you put on that piece of paper?" asked Sturgeon out of the blue.

"Do you really want to know," said Orca. Sturgeon nodded slowly, nerves racking from Orca's words of choice.

"I wrote down exactly what we were going to do," said Orca, "So he knows where we have gone."

"Are you crazy?" Sturgeon said, trying to keep his voice down, "He's going to be worried sick!"

"No, he's going to be worried and then later on, he'll realize that we're fine," Orca corrected. Sturgeon wanted to yell at Orca for the grief he had likely just put their father through.

"Look Sturgeon," said Orca before his brother could totally blow up in his face, "Look at it this way. If I hadn't left that note, he probably would have jumped off of a cliff due to not knowing where we could have gone." Sturgeon calmed down after taking the words of his brother into careful consideration yet again. Even if Orca didn't have Sturgeon's brains, he had his equal in wisdom.

"Mr. Nathaniel," Orca asked, "How long until we…" Nathaniel wasn't able to answer because he was now sound asleep.

"Well, I guess we'll ask him when he gets up," said Orca. They sat back against the short sides of the raft. The seas had calmed from the day and they were smooth sailing north across the Great Sea. Perhaps they would find Windfall before morning.

"Do you think we'll see mother there?" asked Orca.

"Perhaps," said Sturgeon, "I wonder if she'd delight in seeing us show up."

"Or maybe she'll freak out and send us home," said Orca.

"I don't think that's likely," said Sturgeon. The raft suddenly shifted as Nathaniel was sitting up.

"Well that was a nice nap," he said yawning, "Say, do either of you know where we are?" The two brothers looked at each other and shrugged. Nathaniel turned from them and looked across the ocean, putting a hand over his eyes.

"We're heading northwest," he said with sincerity, "That can't be right." He felt the wind.

"So the wind blows in that direction…" said Nathaniel putting a hand under his chin, "We mustn't go that way. A dangerous place lies in the direction." Orca and Sturgeon looked back at each other wondering what exactly Nathaniel was talking about. They didn't have time to argue because Nathaniel had already readjusted the sail so that they were heading west.

"So now what do we do?" asked Sturgeon.

"We wait and head to Greatfish," said Nathaniel, "It's a small merchant place I've been to. There you'll see what being one of us is like. Then we'll head to Windfall to the northeast. At least… I think that's where it is…"

"Oh boy," said Sturgeon.

"We'll be fine," said Orca, "Just so long as we're getting somewhere." Nathaniel nodded.

"It's hard to be someone like me," said the Goron, "Always on our feet… er, ships, and sometimes turned down on the spot. But that's why I love this job. It's that kind of thing where you keep trying."

Nobody spoke after that. Orca fell asleep and soon after him Sturgeon did as well. Nathaniel, having slept already, watched over them.

"Now why might they want to travel so far and wide?" he asked himself with a chuckle.

* * *

They reached the very large island of Greatfish within the rest of the night, and Nathaniel docked their ship on the beach, hiding it behind a rock. They camped out there so that in the morning they could go into town. Upon the morn of their second day, Orca and Sturgeon woke up to find Nathaniel still snoring.

"Morning…" said Sturgeon groggily. Orca waved and then stood up and grabbed his sword.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Sturgeon.

"Training," said Orca, "Tell Nathaniel I won't be back for a while." With that he disappeared around the other side of the rock, leaving Sturgeon with the sleeping Nathaniel.

"Now where is he going to find any good place to train on this island?" Sturgeon asked himself, arms crossed across his chest. He decided he would read until Nathaniel woke up to tell him what they had to do. He popped open the ancient Hylian book and was able to flip through a few pages before Nathaniel's huge body shifted and sat up.

"Is it morning already?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes. Sturgeon nodded, seeing as how the sun was almost all the way visible on the horizon.

"Where's your brother?" asked Nathaniel as he looked around.

"Training," said Sturgeon, repeating his brother's word. Nathaniel stood up and Sturgeon followed suit.

"So what do we do?" asked Sturgeon.

"Come with me," said Nathaniel, hefting his heavy backpack onto his back and putting on his conic hat. They walked out from behind the rock and began walking across the shoreline.

"This place is what the islanders call Nayru's Shoreline," said Nathaniel.

"Nayru…" Sturgeon repeated. Where had he heard that name before?

"Yes, that's right," said Nathaniel, breaking into Sturgeon's train of thought, "Nayru's Shoreline. It is quite a catchy name is it not?"

"Mm-hmm," said Sturgeon as they walked up off of the beach and onto a grassy plain. Sturgeon could almost see all the way across the island from that point. To their north, there appeared to be a large village situated in the center of the island. To the west was a rise that concealed whatever was at its top. Closer to them than that was another village, though a lot smaller than the one in the center of the island.

"We'll head to the Riverside Village first," said Nathaniel, "They're a bit friendlier than the main islanders." As such, they headed in that direction, to the village that was along the river, hence the name Riverside.

"So why are there two villages here?" asked Sturgeon.

"Oh, they're just… on rough ground," said Nathaniel, "I wouldn't worry too much about it though since neither is going to start a war or anything. As far as I know, they don't even have weapons." With that they continued on towards the village. As they reached the path that led into it, people began to take notice of them. Sturgeon nervously followed Nathaniel's lead, seeing as though they all seemed to be looking at the two of them. Nathaniel was like a walking stone, not showing any emotion whatsoever.

All of the people on the island were Hylian, just like Sturgeon and Orca. Nobody approached them or attacked them in any way; they just looked on with curiosity. Finally, they reached the center of the ovular village.

"Hello Riversidians!" Nathaniel addressed the people around him, "I'm sure you remember me correct?"

"Yes," said the man closest to them, "You are that trader correct?"

"I am indeed," said Nathaniel.

"Who's the kid with you?" he asked as he eyed Sturgeon's sword. Sturgeon tried his best to look straight ahead, though he had noticed that the guy seemed to be interested in his sword.

"He's a friend," said Nathaniel, "I might ask if I could set up shop here for a few hours before heading over to the Greatfish Village."

"Of course," said the man, taking his gaze off of Sturgeon. He turned to a small crowd of people.

"Get the trader a stand please!" he called. The people all rushed inside the largest building in the village and returned with a stand that Nathaniel could fit behind. Nathaniel bent down to Sturgeon.

"You see?" he said, "They set up for me and then come and try to barter with me in order to get some of the rarities I have in my pack." Sturgeon nodded in understanding. Nathaniel left him so as to go over to the stand and Sturgeon had the urge to follow, but he didn't. He decided he would look around the village a bit. It was then that he realized that he had brought his book all the way out here with him.

"Now how did I not notice that?" he asked himself as he turned to begin looking around. He bumped right into the man who had been eyeing his sword.

"How much for it?" he asked. Sturgeon was speechless.

"For… my sword?" he asked.

"Yes, your sword," said the man, "What else have you got?"

"I-I'm sorry," said Sturgeon, "I am only tagging along with my friend…"

"Ah, so that's it," said the man, "Oh well then…" He began to turn away but then put a hand on his chin and turned back.

"Say, how would you like to do me a favor?" he asked.

"What kind of favor?" Sturgeon asked in response.

"I have sort of… a suitor for my daughter in the bigger village," he said, "According to island law, the bigger village folk are allowed to pick who they marry freely, and if they happen to pick someone from our village, we can't object."

"That doesn't seem fair," said Sturgeon.

"It isn't," said the man, "He said to me if I was able to defeat him at their dojo in a sword fight, he would back off. But nobody in this village has a weapon and I don't know how to use a sword anyways."

"Wait, wait," said Sturgeon, "Back up. Did you just say they have weapons over there?"

"Why yes," said the man, "It's part of the unfairness factor."

"_So Nathaniel was wrong…_" he thought to himself. Then he said aloud, "So you want me to defeat him in your stead?"

"Yes, that would be the case," said the man, "Both my daughter and I hate the man. He is rude and unfortunately one of the best in their village."

"That doesn't sound good," said Sturgeon.

"Why not?" the man asked, "Don't tell me you're inexperienced."

"I hate to say it, but that is the case," Sturgeon sighed, "I'm sorry. If you were to ask my brother though…"

"Father!" a voice yelled from the other side of the village. Sturgeon turned to see a girl running towards them about his age. Her brown hair was in one long braid down her back and she wore a yellow dress, typical of a Hylian woman. And Sturgeon thought that she was the most beautiful creature to ever walk the land.

"Father, have you found some way to defeat that terrible man?" she asked desperately.

"No Bella, but I have found someone," said the man Sturgeon had been talking to. He gestured to Sturgeon, who neither of them seemed to notice was blushing madly.

"You'll be able to defeat him?" asked Bella, still gripping onto her father tightly.

"O-of course," said Sturgeon, flustered beyond his control. On the inside he slapped himself.

"Why did you just say that!?" one side of his conscious said, while the other stated, "Great, this is your chance to get the girl of your dreams who you barely even know!"

"Oh thank you so much!" Bella cried as she pulled away from her father and kissed him on the cheek. Sturgeon just about fainted.

"Ah, thank you my boy," said the man, "I am Henry by the way; what might your name be?"

"I-I-I'm Sturgeon," he said, shaking terribly from embarrassment.

"Excellent!" said Henry, "I shall show you the way to the other village." Sturgeon regained his composure from the sudden incident that he had come out of accepting the challenge of defeating a man he probably couldn't defeat. Then he began to follow Henry down the river looking back at Bella as she waved them off.

* * *

"I can't let her down… I can't let her down…" Sturgeon kept repeating this to himself as he followed the directions Henry had given him. He was amazed at how little he was able to focus on being nervous about the fight. Of course, he hadn't been this in love in his entire life. True, he did have a few crushes back on Outset, since Annette hadn't been the only girl there for a while, but none of them were major. This one was the real deal.

As he walked through the village, which was more like a small town, he noticed that it was a lot more sinister than the cheerful Riverside Village. In order to get to Greatfish Village, one had to cross the bridge about half a mile down the river from Riverside. Then it was a couple hundred feet in order to get to Greatfish Village; the island was surprisingly not as big as it looked.

Sturgeon received a couple of stares as he walked through the streets until he came out into the plaza where there was a large fountain that Sturgeon noticed acted like a sundial. According to the fountain it was about nine in the morning now. Sturgeon supposed that he'd woken up around eight thirty if that was the case. He took another right down another street and found himself looking at a beat up building that was his destination.

"This is it?" he asked himself. He figured that if they had weapons and stuff like that, their dojo would be nice. Of course, his whole opinion changed when the door got knocked down and a guy was thrown against the wall behind him, just barely missing his head.

"What in blazes!?" he cried. He rushed inside through the knocked down door and received the shock of his life. Orca was squaring off against what appeared to be one of the dojo's leaders, who was the only person in the room who was still standing aside from Orca himself.


	5. Chapter 5

"Orca, what in the name of the Triforce are you doing!?" Sturgeon yelled. Everyone in the dojo immediately turned around to see where his voice had come from. Most of their bodies were bruised and battered.

"Well, it appears someone you know has just walked in the door," said the other man who was standing, "Welcome to the Greatfish Dojo." Sturgeon was red with embarrassment.

"Sturgeon…" Orca groaned, "Can't you see I'm trying to fight someone right now?" That caused Sturgeon to enter the building again.

"What are you doing here?" asked Sturgeon firmly.

"I am simply training like I said I was," said Orca.

"With people?" Sturgeon asked furiously, "How many have you hurt?"

"All of them," Orca answered. Before Sturgeon could go off like a bomb, the man who had been facing Orca pushed him aside.

"Who is this fool?" asked the man.

"My know-it-all brother," said Orca coolly, "His name is Sturgeon."

"Ah, so is he looking for a fight here too?" asked the man, "Unfortunately, I am the only one available to fight right now. Why not give him a shot?"

"With pleasure," said Orca with a wicked smile. Sturgeon didn't like the looks of that.

"Well…" Sturgeon started, "I'm looking to fight a guy named Tussel." The man laughed.

"Well then you're facing the right guy," he said, drawing a six foot long sword, "Bring it on!" Orca jumped out of the way as Tussel swung the sword and Sturgeon rolled around in the other direction. Tussel swung the sword around again and Sturgeon ducked under it, then jumped over it as it came around again. Then he drew his own sword and began countering strikes, but to no avail, and as a matter of fact, to Tussel's advantage. Tussel's swings were stronger and his sword's mass was pushing away Sturgeon's with stronger blows.

Sturgeon began to realize that he wasn't getting anywhere and jumped over the next swing, grabbing onto the single light fixture at the top of the small room. Tussel tried to swing at him from below but his sword didn't clear the ceiling and got stuck. Sturgeon then cut off the light fixture and back flipped to the ground so that it hit Tussel square on the head. The whole dojo gasped in amazement. Tussel however, seemed quite unfazed.

He charged at Sturgeon again and they entered another fray of sword fighting. Sturgeon was beginning to get a handle on things now and swung counterstrikes with ease. He figured it was because of the adrenaline rush that hit him again, similar to the one that had occurred on Outset. Then came a moment where Sturgeon found himself sliding through Tussel's legs and then smacking him on the back of the head with the flat of his sword. That, of course, only made him angrier, leaving Sturgeon to run around trying to defend himself and wondering how it was possible for such a man to be so strong. He knew Sturgeon's fists were about as hard as rocks and that his skin was hard to tear, but this guy seemed as though he was a wild animal refusing to be fazed by pain.

The six foot sword came down on Sturgeon's head again but he blocked it with his own. He rolled around the next strike and kicked Tussel in the leg, but that only left his foot in pain. He finally decided that this guy was impossibly rough skinned and that he must have had something special about him that prevented any of his bones from breaking. After another clanking session of swords, Sturgeon jumped off of Tussel's next swing and over his head, which he fully sliced with the edge of his sword.

That strike was the first thing that had done any damage whatsoever, and what it did surprised everyone in the dojo to say the least; electrical sparks flew out of Tussel's head as the slightly ripped skin revealed that inside of his head were machine parts.

"A robot!?" Sturgeon cried in shock. Tussel turned around and ripped half of his face off to reveal solid metal and a robotic eye.

"Yes, I am a robot," said Tussel murderously, "And now you will die!" He swung the sword at Sturgeon so hard that it flew from his hands. As such, the sword was now flying at lightning speed like a deadly javelin towards him. It would have impaled Sturgeon in the head had he not bent backwards under it and grabbed it by the hilt. That knocked him back a good two feet into the wall. Tussel the robot now walked up to him.

"You were foolish to challenge me," he said in a deep mechanical voice as he grabbed his sword by the blade, lifting Sturgeon into the air without any effort whatsoever, "Now you will _die_!" Sturgeon blinked in surprise. The last word he had spoken was in ancient Hylian.

"For _as long as you_ don't know my _codes_, you _cannot_ deactivate me," said Tussel, "And even if _you did_, you _wouldn't be able to_ shut me down, for _they_ must be _said_ in my _native language_." Sturgeon was still wide eyed. Almost every other word was ancient Hylian. He tried to think. There had been robots in ancient Hyrule if he remembered his history studies correctly. Tussel dropped him on the floor and grabbed the sword by the hilt.

"_Prepare to die!_" he yelled in ancient Hylian. Sturgeon then spoke the craziest words he could think of as Tussel prepared to kill him, hoping that they would work.

"_Why don't you prepare to die fool_!?" he yelled back in the same language. Tussel's eyes went wide this time and then he froze; just froze. Orca stared and Sturgeon's mouth was agape.

"I did not just do that," said Sturgeon in shock, "I just deactivated an ancient robot…" He hadn't noticed that the dojo had been cleared out while he was fighting. Nobody seemed to be set on coming back inside anytime soon. The robot suddenly disappeared into a bright light and in its place, to the shock of the two brothers, was a Knight's Crest.

"Well done brothers of this quest," said an echoing voice, "This is your second Knight's Crest. You have done well to earn it." The crest floated down into Sturgeon's hands and he grasped it. Then, the room was silent again.

* * *

"I wonder where that robot came from," said Orca as he and Sturgeon walked through the streets of Greatfish Village towards the river.

"I do as well," said Sturgeon, "I believe such an ancient robot was a guard for the royal family a very, very long time ago. I wonder what could have corrupted it and much less brought it here."

"You know, why did you want to go up against that thing?" asked Orca. Sturgeon almost faltered and blushed but he kept his cool.

"I suppose you could say I did it for love," said Sturgeon coolly.

"Oh, so you like someone on this island?" asked Orca aloud. Sturgeon faltered and nearly fell over.

"Orca!" he yelled, "You want everyone on this island to know that I have crush on somebody?"

"If you wanted to keep it a secret you probably wouldn't be yelling," Orca said with mischievous grin. Sturgeon rolled his eyes.

"You are so immature sometimes," said Sturgeon.

"Ah, there you two are!" Nathaniel's voice called from down the street they had been walking on, "You both disappeared!" The Goron clumsily walked towards them.

"I've got some good deals here on this island so we'll be staying a while," said Nathaniel, "I hope that's okay with you two…"

"Oh it's fine," said Orca cutting him off, "For Sturgeon especially."

"Great!" said Nathaniel, "If you need me, I'll be in the plaza setting up for tomorrow's market!" With that he rushed off in his usual Goron way.

"So now what do we do?" asked Sturgeon.

"I think you should introduce me to your little girlfriend," said Orca.

"Orca!" Sturgeon groaned.

"Fine," said Orca throwing his hands up in defeat, "The truth is, those guys in the dojo wanted me to teach them in place of Tussel… er, the robot, so I'll be doing that for the next few days."

"So I suppose we should separate for the next few days to pursue our own desires," said Sturgeon.

"I suppose that is so," said Orca with a smile.

"I'll see you around brother," said Sturgeon as he held out his hand. Orca took it and shook it.

"Alright," he said. Then he walked off back towards the dojo. Sturgeon himself looked around a bit before pulling the second Knight's Crest out of his cloak pocket. Orca had the other one most of the time so he never got a good close look at one. It was a purple color with a yellow patch sewed on it depicting what appeared to be a bug of some kind. On its "arms" there were white dots that went all the way around to the back of the crest where there was a small break in between the two ends of the crest. He thought he heard a voice speaking to him in his head.

"_Be warned…_" it said, strangely in ancient Hylian, "_Be warned mortal, for this crest shall lead you on a quest no human has embarked on before… if you take part in this quest you have quite the possibility of dying. This is your last chance to turn back home and forget this ever happened…"_

The voice faded and Sturgeon's heart raced. Had the Great Fairy not said the same thing? Once again his doubts about the quest returned to him. Fortunately, he was not able to think about them for very long because he heard a voice calling him from the other side of the river.

"Sturgeon!" it called. Sturgeon looked across the river since that was where he had been standing and saw that Bella was waving to him. He blushed slightly and waved back.

"Did you beat Tussel?" she yelled.

"I did!" Sturgeon yelled back, "Except for that he was a huge robot."

"A what!?" she yelled.

"I'll come over there and then we'll talk!" Sturgeon yelled.

It didn't take Sturgeon long to get to the other side of the river due to his easy pinpointing of the bridge. Bella was there to greet him right outside the village.

"So you did beat him," said Bella.

"Yep," said Sturgeon, out of breath.

"And he was a robot?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's the case," said Sturgeon. Without warning she flung her arms around him.

"Oh, thank you so much!" she cried, "If you hadn't shown up… I don't know what I would have done!" Sturgeon blushed terribly.

"You should stay at our house for the night," she said pulling away from him and a taking his hands, "I'm sure you wouldn't want to stay in the cold outside again."

"How did you know that we had done that?" asked Sturgeon.

"Nathaniel lets a lot slip from that blabbermouth of his," said Bella with a wink. Then she pulled him into the Riverside Village as the sun sank beneath the horizon in the sky. Sturgeon didn't hesitate. He knew that he and his brother were okay now, but concealed from him was the fact that the brothers had a lot to look forward to on Greatfish after that day.


End file.
